The People Higher Up Than Me
by Yuki Onni
Summary: When three new students are transferred to Pinkerton, Vin thinks nothing of it. However, when students start going missing after the students agitated Macbeth, I.N.K. decides to begin their investigation.
1. Chapter 1

**I had previously posted this story up on FanFiction but took it down and made some serious alterations to the story. Please read and review. Chapters will be posted randomly.**

Vin washed his face slowly, pondering the dream he'd woken from. He couldn't remember any details but it had left a sour taste in his mouth and an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He clutched his sink, glancing out towards the window. The sun was just starting to rise and the room was slowly filling up with the warm rays. The blonde boy had actually been awake for a few hours. When he had first woken up, his limbs had been shaking so badly he couldn't stand. Vin closed his eyes, leaning forward until his head pressed against the cold mirror. Why was he acting this way? He shook himself, slapping his cheek mentally and began to complete his morning routine.

After he had finished, he lay out of his bed and stared at his upside-down spy posters. He found himself thinking about his parents and his mind drifted back a few years to himself asking Mr Soper about his parents. A faint image rose to his mind's eye; something large burning and screams. Vin shook his head, throwing the image out of his mind. Where did that come from? Maybe he'd just been watching too many spy movies. Vin glanced at his clock and was surprised to find that it was 7:30. He leapt from the bed, forcing the icky feeling in his stomach away, re-checked his reflection before slowly leaving the room.

Most of the students weren't out of their rooms until quarter to eight, the official time for breakfast, so the hallway was empty. Vin couldn't be any happier about that. He had seen his reflection. He looked sickly and pale. He only hoped that none of his friends would bring it up… but that was unlikely.

The air was frosty, signalling that winter was on its way. Pinkerton experienced very snowy winters, so much so that one year they couldn't attend class because snow had blocked the main entrance door. Vin had never seen Newton so happy to have the day off and Trixie so distressed. Vin exhaled, watching as his breath came out in a puff of white in the cold air and pulled his jacket tightly around him.

The canteen was a little ways from the main building and Macbeth's class room so Vin trekked across the white quadrangle, burying his nose into his orange scarf.

"Morning Vin!" A cheery voice greeted him. Vin looked up to see Mr Soper waving to him.

"Morning, Mr Soper," Vin replied, watching as the principal made his way over to him.

Mr Soper grinned. "You're up early, Vin. Did you sleep too much on the weekend?" He said cheerfully. Vin smiled lightly.

"Not at all, Mr Soper. The field trip kept me wide awake. Burt however…" Vin said playfully, rubbing his eyes. Mr Soper tilted his head. "Are you all right, Vin? You don't look too good."

"I didn't sleep well last night," Vin admitted. "Maybe the field trip took more out of me than I realised."

"Ah, well that can happen. By the way, today is a very special day," Mr Soper confided. "I have a surprise for you students."

Vin arched an eyebrow. "Do I get a sneak-peak?"

Mr Soper laughed. "If only, Vin. You'll have to wait like the rest of the students. Now, you should probably get inside; I don't want you catching a cold. We have an exciting week ahead of us."

Vin nodded, bidding a goodbye to Mr Soper before hurrying to the canteen. He removed his winter out-layers, hanging them up in the hallway before making his way inside to the Cook-O-Matic to order his breakfast. The canteen was entirely empty; still spotless from last night's clean up. Vin booted up the Cook-O-Matic, selecting the button with his image on it. The Cook-O-Matic burst into life, becoming bright and giving out a distinct hum. Vin leant against a table waiting patiently, rubbing any remaining sleep from his eyes.

The Cook-O-Matic always took a few minutes to produce breakfast and, by the time it was done, Vin felt like his limbs were tied to weights. The lack of pleasant sleep had already started catching up on him so he grabbed his tray and shuffled to the table I.N.K normally sat at and laid his head on the table.

The smell of scrambled eggs wafted to his nose and he looked up at his tray, leaving his chin resting against the table. His stomach was fighting an internal battle between wanting to eat food and wanting to shut down for sleep.

"It'll taste better if you eat it while it's hot," an unfamiliar voice announced.

It was a female voice, thick with an Italian accent and hid a smile. Vin lifted his head off the table, turning around. A teenage girl stood behind him, dressed in about ten layers of winter clothes, a rainbow beanie pulled over short and spikey dark brown hair and a scarf wrapped around her neck and the bottom of her face, covering up skin the shade of mocha. Dark eyes peered down at him, glinting with mischief.

"Because," she continued, smiling down at him, "if you don't eat that any time soon, I'll eat it for you."

"Thanks for the offer," Vin replied dryly, smiling slightly at the carefree tone of the girl's voice.

"I'm Myka Capone!" She said, extending a gloved hand and pulling her scarf off her face.

Vin shook her hand. "Just Vin."

Myka laughed. "Nice to meet you. I'm one of the transfer students here; we just started this morning and the principal, Mr Soper, told us to come straight here after checking out our rooms to get breakfast because classes start at about eight, or something along those lines and, well, it's been ages since I've eaten some really good food and those eggs smell delicious so I thought I would come down here first to, you know, check out the food 'cause I'm a bit of a picky eater and –"

"Myka," someone broke into the one-sided conversation. Vin turned his head to see a pale boy, strawberry blonde hair falling into his eyes which were hidden behind a pair of dark circular glasses. The boy seemed thin; even for someone with a small build, and was only visibly a few centimetres taller than Myka. Unlike Myka, he wasn't fully decked out in winter clothing; instead leaving a simple jacket on.

"Oh, Corey. You found your way here!" Myka chirped. Corey raised an eyebrow at Myka's cheerfulness and turned his attention to Vin. "And you are?"

He spoke with a slight Irish accent, one that took Vin a while to place, and didn't seem to raise his voice at all; being able to be heard even though he was still standing by the doorway. His tone was cold and rather uncaring and Vin got the faintest feeling that Corey didn't like him.

"I'm Vin. Who are you?" Vin answered, sort of unintentionally throwing a bit of Corey's cold welcome back at him.

Corey's eyebrow arched higher but he still answered with a brief: "Corey Wright," and moved over to the Cook-O-Matic. Myka gave Vin a big smile and floated over to the machine too as a stream of yawning and drowsy-eyed students entered the canteen. VIN made a face as Burt and Van entered holding hands and staring at each other with big, dreamy eyes. Ever since Burt had asked Van out last week; the two of them had been staring at each other like that whenever they were in the same room. Both VIN and Zero had taken it upon themselves to gag and retch whenever they were around.

Not to be out of character, VIN pulled a face, turning his attention back to his breakfast. With the ambiguous threat still present from Myka, VIN picked his fork up and began to make his way slowly through his food. Within minutes he was joined by Newton, who looked like he was still asleep, and Zero.

"You're up early, VIN," Newton said carefully, hoping to try to start a pleasant conversation.

"I didn't sleep well." VIN replied, not looking up from his food. "I think it has something to do with that math test we've got today."

Zero let out a groan. "I had forgotten about that. Reckon that's what's taking Trix so long to get here?"

"Studying for a test?" Newton asked incredulously.

"You're right," Zero mused, "that's not really her 'thing'."

"That's not what I meant!" Newton retorted, his tone balanced between irritated and playful. Vin smirked slightly; ever since Newton had hit his twelfth birthday, (being only a year younger than Vin and Trixie, and two years younger than Zero) he had insisted on being treated like he was the same age as the three of them. That included becoming more rebellious which drove Trixie mad.

"Vin."

Vin raised his eyes, arching an eyebrow. "What?"

Zero returned his look. "We were asking if you were okay. You're looking less dashing this morning."

"Ha-ha," Vin replied, shooting Zero a glare for her sarcasm. "I'm fine. I told you; I didn't sleep well."

"You look like a zombie," Newton added to the conversation helpfully. Then added, "Ow."

Vin rolled his eyes. "Subtle, Zero." He said with a smirk.

"Of course," Zero replied. "Subtly is my speciality."

"That hurt!" Newton protested. "I was just being truthful."

"Well you need to be more tactful!" Zero retorted, leaning over the table to jab Newton lightly with her fork.

Newton snorted. "Quite a thing for you to say."

Zero narrowed her pale eyes. "What was that?"

"Guys, enough!" Vin snapped. The Mexican stand-off lasted a few more moments, both Newton and Zero determined to glare each other into submission but Newton soon backed off. If the glaring had lasted any longer, Vin doubted he would've been able to stop Zero from using the coat-rack as her weapon.

The three sat in silence with Vin cautiously keeping an eye on both of his friends as he anxiously waited for Trixie. She was easily able to keep them all in line; having developed many skills to keep them all entertained at the same time.

Zero huffed, picking at her pancakes. "Does anyone know where Trix is? We have to get some _surveillance_ done." She hissed, the word 'surveillance' almost unable to hear.

Newton shrugged. "Maybe she's talking to Soper."

"I saw Soper earlier and I think he was going to his classroom to prepare for our field trip presentations." Vin added to the conversation.

"Damn!" Zero exclaimed, smacking her forehead. "I completely forgot to finish that. Is it before or after recess?"

"It is straight after the math test we have this morning," Trixie provided, placing her breakfast plate down on the table and pulling herself daintily into the chair.

Newton grinned. "Morning, Trixie. We were just wondering where you were."

"I know," Trixie replied. "I could hear you from the door."

"It's such a good thing you're keeping an eye on all of us," Vin said playfully. He knew it was only a matter of time before Trixie brought up his appearance. Girls were ridiculous good at picking up small things, so distractions were entirely necessary.

Zero poked her tongue out at him. "Suck poked her tongue out at him. essary. ions are necessary.

up his appearance. Girls were ridiculous good at picking up small up."

"Guys," Trixie interrupted. "Did you see the new students?"

Newton and Zero automatically spun on their stools, gaze flicking to where Myka and Corey sat, now accompanied by a tall blonde girl with startling hazel-green eyes and alabaster skin.

"Yeah," Vin added offhandedly. "I met two of them earlier. Myka Capone is the brunette girl and I think the guy's name was Corey Wright."

Trixie nodded. "The other girl said her name was Jacquelyn Lacoste. Apparently they arrived last night."

Zero frowned. "Don't we normally get 'warning' before they actually arrive?"

"But we didn't get a warning with Pervy." Newton reminded them.

"That was almost four years ago, Newton." Zero shot back. "Most of us hadn't even hit ten years old at that time. Didn't we have an exchange student last year who just showed up?"

"No," Trixie replied. "I remember Mr Soper telling us about him coming two days before. It was during dinner time and you three were trying to throw mashed potato at Burt and Hector, remember?"

"Hey!" Vin said defensively. "I had no part in that."

"Of course not, Vin." Zero remarked sarcastically. "You were only the one who threw the first potato bomb."

"Don't you dare blame me? I was nothing but a saint in relation to that incident."

Trixie glared at him, shutting him up effectively. "My point is don't you think it's strange that they just showed up. Pinkerton is a school for pre-teens and young teenagers. They all look sixteen and above."

Vin crossed his arms. "So what, you think that Macbeth is behind them?"

Zero snorted. "Of course not. Look at that blondie – she has no muscle on her bones. Same with the guy. If Macbeth wanted to take over Pinkerton with the help of teenagers; she shouldn't pick these guys."

"Zero, I highly doubt that Macbeth brought them here," Trixie disagreed. "All transfers have to be confirmed by Mr Soper. There is no way that Macbeth could bypass the system without Mr Soper knowing."

"She's stupid but considering what's she has managed to invent over the last few years, I wouldn't put it past her," Vin said nonchalantly.

Trixie lent back on her chair. "You make a good point, Vin." She lifted a finger up to her lip and tapped it, frowning. "We should consider surveillance; at least until we're sure that they aren't here to aid Macbeth."

"Good morning, students!" Mr Soper interrupted, tromping happily into the canteen, snow hanging off his greying hair and red glasses. Everyone in the canteen turned to face him, all conversations dimming. Mr Soper clasped his hands together.

"Students, I have an overdue announcement to make. As of this morning, Pinkerton will be hosting three new students. I have known that they would be coming for quite some time now, so apologise for the late notice." He paused his speech, turning towards the three students and gesturing for them to stand. "I would like to introduce Myka Capone, Corey Wright and Jacquelyn Lacoste. I want you to make them feel welcome, show them around and, of course, help them out as much as possible."

Vin watched as the new students sat back down, the blonde girl – Jacquelyn Lacoste – flushing with embarrassment while Myka was grinning widely. Trixie tapped his arm. "Hey Vin, are you all right?"

"Hmm?" Vin responded, hoping to appear uninterested to throw Trixie off.

"You look quite sick today." Trixie continued bluntly, completely ignoring Vin's attempt at avoiding the conversation. "Have you asked Mr Soper to get checked over?"

"I'm fine, Trixie," Vin huffed. "I didn't sleep well last night and I've already spoken to Soper." He stood up, picking up his breakfast tray. "Come on, we'll be late."

He turned sharply, stalking towards the Cook-O-Matic. Most of the students had finished breakfast at this time and were heading back to the dormitories to collect their school supplies so there was a small crowd in front of the Cook-O-Matic. Vin managed to elbow his way through and stretched forward, dumping his tray into one of the slots in the side of the machine before taking a step towards the exit, still turning around, only to bump into the third member of the new students. She dropped the three trays that were stacked on her arm with a crash. Jacquelyn ducked down to pick up the trays, while saying to Vin; "I'm really sorry about that. You'd think I'd have a better sense of balance."

Vin knelt down next to her, picking up some of the cutlery that had scattered on the floor. "It's my bad; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Jacquelyn sat back on her heels and laughed. "Well since you're offering to take the blame…" She said with a grin, meeting Vin's eyes. Her smile dimmed for a moment and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Vin stared back. "What?"

"You just look like someone I know," Jacquelyn answered almost dismissively, her expression melting back into the smile. She stood up, re-balancing the trays on her arm before pulling Vin to his feet. "Thank you for helping me; I'm a bit of a klutz."

"No problem," Vin answered, turning and walking towards the exit. He could feel her staring after him and he wondered if it was because of how sick he looked today. Trixie met up with him as he was pulling his coat on.

"I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Vin. You don't look to well at the moment so I believed it needed to be said." Trixie told him. Vin gave her a smile.

"Thanks Trix; I really am fine. I think a good night sleep and no more tests looming over our heads for the next week will do everyone good."

Trixie let out a sigh. "I agree entirely with that." She rubbed her forehead. "I know we're near the end of the first semester and exams are coming up but, to tell you the truth, I want to just relax for a day."

They stepped out into the frigid air, Vin wrapping his scarf around his head. "I think we're all in need of relaxation. Thank God holidays are coming up."

"It's still about five weeks away, Vin," Trixie reminded him with a smile. "Did you get any study for the math test done, by the way?"

"Sort of," Vin confined. It was rather hard to study for Macbeth's test, considering she most likely gets the questions off the internet and doesn't know how to solve them herself.

"I can't believe she's still teaching here," Trixie rambled on. "The inspector has visited over three times and each time she has managed to wriggle her way out of losing her job. I just don't get it."

"How she manages it or how she gets away with it?" Vin asked, pushing the front doors of the dormitories open.

Trixie just sighed again before turning down the hallway towards the girl's dormitories. "We'll just have to keep keeping an eye on her."

Vin hurried to his room, picking up his pencil case and the small calculator that sat on his desk. He'd kept up with the math tutoring from Kathy for quite some time and had brought the calculator in one of the trips the school took to London.

Newton was waiting for him outside the door, a mixed bundle of notes, stationary and calculators under his arm. "Ready?!"

"Why are you so excited for this?" Vin replied, arching an eyebrow.

Newton just grinned back at him. "Because I'm looking forward to seeing the look on the new students' faces at Macbeth's teaching methods."

"What? You think they'll say something?" Zero called, standing at the T-junction between the dorms and the lobby. Trixie was next to her, sorting notes in one of her binders.

"Of course they won't," Trixie answered for Newton. "Come on, you two. If we're late; we're going to miss more than an hour of our lives."

Vin trudged down the stairs. "I don't know why Soper hasn't fired her yet. He must've noticed how incompetent she is."

"Macbeth is almost smarter than we give her credit for." Trixie replied.

"Unless it's teaching, of course." Zero interrupted. The albino stalked past them, practically kicking the front doors of the lobby open. The students were starting to line up outside Macbeth's classroom; each and every students dressed in multiple layers. The three new students stood at the end of the line; Myka bouncing up and down, shivering violently.

The members of I.N.K. joined the line, standing behind the three 'newbies', watching as Myka began to jump on the spot.

"It's freezing!"

"We'll be inside in a minute," Trixie assured her.

Jacquelyn blinked at them. "Why is everyone carrying so much paper? Is there an assignment or something?"

Zero groaned. "Math test."

Corey frowned. "Our first class at this school is a test that we cannot participate in? Typical." He huffed, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"I'm sure Ms Macbeth will allocate some work for the three of you to accomplish," Trixie answered diplomatically as Macbeth slammed the door open, glaring at the students standing outside. "Get it. You've got your 'five minutes' reading time. Let's see if you brats can improve your grades. I see zeroes in our future."

The students filed in silently, Myka and Jacquelyn sharing confused looks. Myka looked back at Trixie and Vin, arching both eyebrows in surprise. Vin shrugged in response. There was nothing that could be done about Macbeth's bad attitude.

The classroom was definitely warmer that the wintery conditions outside and two extra desk rows had been added at the back. Vin sat down at his assigned desk, signing inwardly as Macbeth tossed a thick math test booklet in his direction. A loud thud next to him caused him to glance sideways to see Zero leaning her forehead hard against the table while still successfully glaring at both Macbeth and the math booklet.

Macbeth stalked back up to the front of the class. "Your test starts now. If you wish to waste your time on the 'five minutes reading' then do so." She sat down in her swivel chair, leaning both feet against her desk and her metre ruler enclosed in her hand tightly. Vin stared down at his test paper and sighed again. The lack of sleep was catching up on him and it was the first less of the day. He flicked lazily through the test paper, attempting to see if Macbeth had been kind enough to add any mathematics that the students had been 'studying', when the sound of someone clearing their throat caught his attention.

He glanced to the row behind him to see Jacquelyn sitting dead straight in her chair, one hand in their air and both eyes glaring angrily at the teacher at the front of the class. Corey, who was sitting next to her, had pushed the test to one side and had pulled out a small notebook and begun to write in it.

Macbeth opened one eye slightly. "Yes. What is it?"

"I don't know if you know but the three of us just moved here," Jacquelyn said sweetly, "and we have been unable to prepare for a test that we just discovered was on about five minutes ago. Could you please supply us with some material to complete instead?"

The tone of the question was polite and calm but Macbeth instantly became enraged. "Excuse me?! If you have no prepared for the test, that is not my problem but how dare you ask that of me?"

Jacquelyn looked confused and then anger spread across her face. "Did you misunderstand what I said, Ms. We have just transferred to this school this morning."

"That isn't a good enough excuse to get out a scheduled math test," Macbeth shot back, her expression mirroring Jacquelyn's anger.

"Don't argue," Vin hissed to Jacquelyn but it was in vain. The blonde squared her shoulders and narrowed her eyes. "I have heard that you are incompetent but I didn't know you were stupid as well. The three of us will not be completing this math test." And with that she leant back in her chair and crossed her arms.

Corey let out a sigh. "Ma'am, I believe what she is trying to say is the test needs to be postponed for the three of us."

"If the test is postponed, you will get zero." Was Macbeth's tart reply.

"But earlier you said that you were expecting zeroes from the whole class," Myka added to the conversation. "How does postponing our test change that if that was the mark you were going to give anyway?"

By this point in time, every single students was staring, slack-jawed and wide-eyed at the three students at the back of the classroom. Macbeth was red with rage, her grip on the metre ruler so tight Vin thought it would break. "The three of you; one hundred and fifty thousand lines _'I must not question the teacher as I am not as smart, significant or talented as Ms Macbeth.'_ I want it on my desk by recess."

Jacquelyn stuck her hand in the air again. "So are we doing the math test or the lines?"

Vin turned to face Trixie, holding his watch higher. "What are they thinking?" He hissed over the radio.

"I don't know," was Trixie's response. "Getting Macbeth angry on the first day isn't very smart."

"No kidding. It's downright stupid." Zero snarled back.

Newton frowned. "It's like they were planning to do something like this."

"What do you mean, Newt?" Vin asked.

"Well listen to their words," Newton answered. "They sound almost rehearsed."

"So what are you saying?" Zero laughed. "These three kids passed Pinkerton's screening, transferred here form whatever school they came from just to annoy Macbeth?"

"That not what I meant." Newton said sharply but before the conversation could continue, Trixie cut in. "What Newton is saying is right though. It sounds like they're reading of a well-rehearsed script."

Vin adjusted his watch. "So what do you want to do?"

Trixie looked at her fellow members of I.N.K. "We're going to keep an eye on them. Something isn't right here."


	2. Presentations

**Okay, so, as any readers would've worked out, this takes place after the TV show ends. So, I'm going to supply some quick info for each character.**

**Vin (main character) = age 13. Hasn't changed much in appearance. Hair has gotten messier and he has become more reclusive as he's gotten older. Many of his friends are worried about him and even Mr Soper makes the effort to check on him as much as possible. He is now the 'detective' of INK, getting better at putting small clues together.**

**Trixie = age 13. She stopped wearing her hair back with a headband, now pulling it back into a high ponytail. She has, if possible, become more logical as she has reached the start of puberty and is still well-known for her cool-headed-ness. She is the leader and the mission coordinator of INK.**

**Zero = aged 14. Zero has gotten quite worried about her mental health as she has begun to notice things that no one else seems to see. Despite this, she has started to open up more, getting along better with many of the students that used to be scared of her. Her position in INK hasn't changed, along with keeping her appearance close to how it was during the TV series.**

**Newton = aged 12. He, only just reaching puberty, has started growth spurts, now being a little bit taller than Trixie. He shares Trixie's logical view on the world and has tried to act like an adult so that many of his classmates would treat him like same as they treat everyone else. **

**Corey Wright = aged 16. He is one of the new students and appears to specialise in giving the cold shoulder. He wears dark rimmed glasses that hide aqua eyes and has strawberry blonde hair that falls down his neck and into his eyes. His accent sounds Irish.**

**Myka Capone = aged 16. She has the dark skin of mocha and the energy of the caffeine blast the drink delivers. She appears to be Italian and is endlessly happy yet always seems to be staring at something that isn't there.**

**Jacquelyn Lacoste = aged 16. The final of the trio who appears like a China doll, complete with pale skin and petite features. However, she has a sharp tongue and the strangest mood swings, appearing on the edge of snapping in anger at one moment to perfectly calm in seconds. **

Vin stared at the new students during Mr Soper's class. It had only been about fifty minutes since their show-down with Miss Macbeth and most of the students were still in awe of the fact that they had talked back to the teacher. The three of them were all full engrossed with the presentations, which were about a specific animal students had seen on the field trip and their habitats, food and typical 'lifestyle'.

"How can they do that?" Zero hissed over the radio.

"How can who do what?" Vin replied quietly, hoping his partner, Hector, didn't hear the conversation.

"Those newbies." Zero replied snappily. "They're so interested. It's strange."

"Zero, maybe they just want to catch up on the class." Trixie reasoned. "It is the halfway through the second semester and exams are coming up."

"Are you kidding me?" Zero shot back. "Van and Ben are talking about the dung beetle. How will that help us in our exams?!"

"I'm starting to think that you're becoming paranoid, Zero." Newton said meekly. "They just got here."

Zero glared at him across the room. "Earlier we decided to keep an eye on them. How is this not strange?"

"Maybe they really like bugs." Vin suggested sarcastically, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes. The math test had taken a lot out of him and they weren't even halfway through the day yet.

"Ha. Ha." Was Zero's reply and Vin received his own glare from the albino and a look from Trixie that bordered both stern and concerned. To ignore them both, Vin looked down at his palm cards. Hector and he had covered the rabbit. Vin was no longer a big fan of rabbits after the robotic bunny episode a few years back but they were a simple animal to do a presentation on. They ate vegetation and were eaten by foxes and large birds. They are cute and fluffy and can only cause harm to a vegetable garden. Truthfully, this was one of the more boring assignments that Mr Soper had assigned but, what kinda ticked Vin off was that the partners were chosen beforehand. By Miss Macbeth.

Vin leant back in his chair, rubbing his eyes again. He was looking forward to recess; anything to give him a break from using his brain and, maybe if his friends didn't bug him, a few minutes of necessary sleep.

The presentation ended with loud clapping, making Vin groan in frustration and open his eyes. Mr Soper stood up as Van and Ben sat down and he gave the students a wide smile. "Now, can anyone tell me what crucial detail Van and Ben missed in their presentation?"

You could've heard a pin drop. Vin lent his cheek against his palm, watching as Mr Soper looked around the room. "Does anyone want to take a guess?"

Again, silence filled the room. No one wanted to be wrong. Mr Soper gave a small smile and then pointed to one of the new students, Corey. "Mr Wright, would you like to take a guess for us?"

Corey shifted slightly in his chair, pushing his glasses up his nose. "There was nothing about fear." He said promptly.

Mr Soper nodded, clapping his hands together. "Yes, fear. Predators and prey. Every species in the world experiences fear, even humans, as I'm sure you all know. Most of fears are instinctual; a poisonous spider or a large bear; these are rational things to be afraid of. But what are irrational fears? To quote a dictionary, an irrational fear is an abnormal fear of an object, situation or thing even though you know that this is not in any way dangerous to you. Does anyone want to give me an example?"

"Would being scared of water be one, Mr Soper?" Daryl spoke up from the back of the class. Mr Soper nodded.

"What about cats?"

"And sleep?"

"And food?"

Vin snickered quietly. "This is getting out of hand very quickly."

Mr Soper raised his hands to quieten the students. "All of those are irrational fears. But, you have to ask yourself, why would you be scared of these things? Why would you look down at a pool or the ocean and feel your muscles lock together?"

Newton raised his hand cautiously. "The fight or flight response, Mr Soper?"

"Correct, Newton!" Mr Soper exclaimed. "The fight or flight response is something I'm sure you've all heard of. Your glands release adrenaline and blood rushes to your limbs to prepare you to run or fight. It is one of the most basic human instincts and there have been studies on the fight or flight response that shows what, Trixie?"

Trixie paused for a moment, pursing her lips. "… That your body will do this even if the threat isn't actually threatening."

"Exactly," Mr Soper replied. "Your body will react the same way to an irrational fear, such as fearing flowers, as it will react during an attack from a grizzly bear. Now, is this response limited to just humans?"

"Of course not," Newton piped up. "Animals have adrenal glands, just like we do, and their instincts are better than ours."

Mr Soper grinned widely. "Which leads me to the next phase of our discussion. I am going to place you into pairs and allow for each of you to choose a fear, irrational or otherwise, and being researching. It shall be presented much like today's presentations. I prepared the list of pairs during the first period, so if you'll wait calmly while I read them out.

"Burt and Trixie, Darryl and Van, Zero and Jacquelyn, Hector and Ben, Trixie and Kathy, Sam and Fred, Myka and Newton, Vin and Corey…"

Vin immediately tuned out of the conversation, glancing over to where Corey Wright sat stiffly in his chair. Myka, who was sitting next to him, was busy fiddling with a watch, seemingly oblivious to the conversation around them while Jacquelyn had turned around to talk to Zero, who had been sitting two rows away from her. Vin hoped that Zero wouldn't get angry at the new student. It was only a matter of time until Trixie got paranoid again.

Mr Soper clapped his hands. "Dismissed. Hurry off to recess and have a quick discussion with your new partner about the fear you would like to do. This afternoon's classes will be dedicated to starting this project but don't forget that we have sport after recess."

The second that Mr Soper finished giving out instructions, Trixie had each of the members of I.N.K. in her grasp, pulling them to I.N.K's headquarters in the attic. Finally squirming out of Trixie's tight grasp, Vin fell against the bean bag. "What are we doing, Trixie?"

"We are going to monitor those students." Trixie replied in a voice that left no room for argument. "I don't trust them."

"We know," Zero exclaimed somewhat sarcastically, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. Trixie shot her a glare before turning her own attention back to the computer. Sitting down in the swivel chair, she crossed one leg over the other and flicked the computer on. The surveillance screens burst into life, displaying close to every corner of the school on the monitor. Newton leant forward. "Can anyone see them?"

"There!" Zero pointed. "By the stairs in the lobby."

"No," Trixie replied. "I think that's Van. Does anyone remember their full names?"

Vin pursed his lips. "I'm pretty sure Myka's last name was Capone or something like that."

"And Corey's was Wright." Newton chimed in, still scanning the monitors. "Ah! Found them. They're talking to Soper; by the classroom."

Trixie nodded as all members of I.N.K. turned their attention to the monitor Newton was pointing at. "Great. Now, let's get the sound and find out what they're talking about."

Newton leaned over her, pressing a button and the conversation blared over the speakers.

"How are you liking Pinkerton?" Mr Soper was asking.

"It's good so far. The other teacher, Ms Macbeth, seemed a bit angry today." Corey replied.

"I have noticed that she has become quite irate over the years. She has been working at this job for quite a while."

"Maybe she just needs a vacation," Myka stage-whispered.

Jacquelyn shot her a glare. "Myka!" She hissed but Mr Soper merely laughed. "Perhaps she does. I don't think she has taken one in a few years. I shall have to talk to her about it."

Trixie leant back in her chair. "I've never heard Mr Soper sound so relaxed."

"Trix, you're starting to sound a bit paranoid." Vin said softly, raising himself off the bean bag. "They just got here. Maybe he's trying to make them feel comfortable."

"Are all the classes run here as informational as the one we just had?" Jacquelyn asked.

Mr Soper grinned widely. "Well, Miss Lacoste, I do try to keep my students as involved as possible in the lesson. I have no doubts you three know what how entertaining lessons can become."

"Are we doing any science experiments soon?!" Myka practically burst out.

"You remembered how that last turned out, don't you?" Jacquelyn responded in an instant. She hadn't even finished her sentence when Corey added a sharp, "No." to the conversation. Myka pouted.

"But I promise to be careful this time!"

"You said that last time," Jacquelyn accused.

Mr Soper laughed quietly. "I shall leave you two to handle this subject. I've heard about your reputation, Myka Capone. Please restrain yourself from destroying the school, if that isn't too much to ask?"

Trixie turned away from the monitor, her expression mirroring Vin and Zero's.

"Her 'reputation'?" Zero asked. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I have no idea," Trixie replied, crossing her arms.

Vin looked back at the monitor. The three students were now looking quite awkward, standing at the edge of the quadrangle. "You said you want us to get some info on them, right?"

"Yes," Trixie replied cautiously.

"Well, why don't we just go and talk to them?"

Zero groaned as Vin pulled her to the lobby. "Why did I have to ocme?"

"It was Trixie's idea to send you, not mine." Vin replied shortly, watching as Zero scowled at him.

"Technically this was your idea in the first place." Zeor snapped back.

Vin rolled his eyes, pushing the front doors open. Most of the students were playing a soccer game that had been going on for about two weeks now. They hadn't had a referee so Burt decided that they would just keep playing. The last time Vin had paid attention to the game, the score was about 50/47.

Zero huffed, crossing her arms. "The least you could do was go by yourself."

Vin rolled his eyes again. Zero was definitely in one of her moods again. Jacquelyn was the first to notice them walking over to the group and she walked forward, smiling. "Hello."

Myka had spun around and somehow appeared next to Jacquelyn by the time the blonde had finished her greeting.

"Hey! You're back!" She said cheerfully. "I wasn't sure if you would talk to us after how we annoyed Ms Macbeth."

"Are you kidding?" Zero burst out. "Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting to say things like that to her?"

Myka tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Macbeth isn't the best teacher, as you probably noticed." Vin intervened. Zero wasn't known for subtly. "She started at this school when we were about eight and has been a bit of a terror ever since."

"Why doesn't Mr Soper fire her then?" Jacquelyn asked, a confused look on her face. "Isn't he the principal?"

Zero glanced at Vin quickly, a death glare on her face. The conversation was turning on them. Vin shrugged, hoping to look casual. "I don't know. Maybe isn't because we appear to get good grades. And she's a good actress."

Myka let out a laugh. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Vin agreed. "She can sing as well."

"That actually sounds quite terrifying." Jacquelyn said softly. She turned to Corey. "Come on. Be social for five minutes."

Corey sighed, trudging over to them in the thick blanket of snow that had settled during Mr Soper's class and adjusting the black-rimmed glasses he wore. "Fine."

"So what school did you guys go to before coming here?" Vin asked cautiously.

Jacquelyn shrugged lightly. "It wasn't the safest school around; a lot of the kids got into fights a lot and many of the teachers didn't actually teach us much."

"They were harsh on some rules," Corey added, "but were pretty relaxed on others."

"So why did you move in the middle of the second semester?" Vin asked.

Jacquelyn shrugged. "The school got really bad. Someone got beaten up at our school and everyone left. Sadly that means that we have to fit in to a new routine and everything."

Vin nodded in understanding. Zero had gotten involved in a conversation with the avid Myka, who was running off dozens of questions in mere seconds.

"Has she always been like this?" Vin asked Jacquelyn and Corey. Jacquelyn let out a small laugh. "We met Myka about two years ago when she joined our school. The first thing she did when we met her was start two different conversations with the both of us at the exact same time."

"They call her Chatter for a reason," Corey added quietly.

Jacquelyn laughed again. "I'd forgotten about that." She turned back to Vin. "Hey, does Trixie, is it, have something against us?"

Vin blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"She seems quite… sullen… No; that's not the word." Jacquelyn tapped her chin. "Umm, I supposed I could say 'distant'. It's strange. I was talking to her when we first got here and she was showing me where the canteen was but she seemed in a hurry to leave."

Vin waved his hands. "No, no. Trixie is a bit like that. She is a bit 'anti-social' around new people. We have a transfer student a few years ago who bullied us a lot and she's become cautious about any new students since."

Jacquelyn frowned, her eyebrows creasing. "That doesn't sound too good. What happened?"

"She left a few weeks after coming here," Vin answered vaguely. Most of the conversation was a lie as Pervy had become quite good friends with I.N.K. before her departure.

Corey crossed his arms. "Sounds like this place is a lot like the school we just came from."

Vin felt a rush of anger. "That's not true. Pinkerton is one of the best school in England!" He snapped. Corey arched an eyebrow, anger flashing in his eyes, mirroring Vin's own expression, while Jacquelyn's expression dropped into one of confusion. Corey stepped forward, maybe to yell or strike Vin but in seconds Zero was in between them and Jacquelyn had one arm looped around Corey's.

"Enough." She said quietly.

Zero clenched her fists. "What the heck do you think you're doing?!" She hissed at Corey. Jacquelyn stepped forward, placing both hands on Corey's shoulders.

"Corey, seriously. Enough."

Corey glared back at Zero. "Did you hear how he spoke back to me?!" He snapped back at her.

Myka and Vin grabbed Zero as she started forward and Jacquelyn tried to push Corey away.

"Zero!" Vin said loudly. "Don't!"

"Corey; your temper." Jacquelyn hissed at the exact same time while glancing over her shoulder. Vin automatically recognised the subtle appearance of anger on her face, her eyes appearing more green as emotion and tension rose. Suddenly, the emotion was gone, her eyes returning to the hazel colour and she was hooking her arm around Corey's waist and stalking off, pulling him after her.

Vin frowned. It was the strangest mood swing that he had ever seen, even after Zero's. Myka gave him a quick smile.

"Sorry this didn't work out!" She chirped and hurried after her friends.

Vin waited until they had gotten across the quadrangle before releasing Zero's arm. Zero glared at him, yanking her arm back.

"Why did you do that?" She said angrily.

Vin crossed his arms. "Didn't Mr Soper say that he would have to expel you if you got into another fight?"

"Vin, that was years ago!" Zero replied, turning on her heel and marching towards the lobby doors.

"You don't think the threat stays until we graduate?!" Vin shouted after her. Zero shot him one last glare over her shoulder, slamming the door behind her. Vin sighed and rubbed his eyes. All the high emotions were exhausting him.

"Are you all right, Vin?" A voice startled him.

Vin jumped, swirling around to see Mr Soper stand behind him. "You look quite sick."

"Y-yeah…" Vin stuttered. The argument had taken a lot out of him. He was beginning to feel light-headed. "I… I think I'm okay."

Mr Soper caught him as he swayed, a look of concern rushing over him. "Come with me; we're taking you to the infirmary."

Vin wanted to protest, he really did. But his legs felt like jelly and his head was pounding. Mr Soper helped him walk slowly to the infirmary and, within seconds of being laid on a bed, Vin was out like a light.

* * *

_It was dark. Something was burning. Someone was crying and someone was screaming. Vin moved slightly and winced as a sharp pain travelled up his neck. He opened his eyes, the world around him blurry and dark. There was something flickering with orange nearby but he couldn't see it properly. Vin sat up slowly, his limbs screaming with the effort and rubbed his eyes again. He was sitting in a small alcove created by a group of trees that blocked his view of the world around him. There was blood running down his face, combining with salty tears that were streaming from his eyes. _

_Vin blinked again, watching as the world sank into focus. He could just see it; the plane that was lying in a man-made clearing. People were walking out of it, covered in soot, scratches and blood, and were stumbling like the way zombies do in the horror movies that Zero loved so much. The plane was relatively well stuck together; only missing the wing that he could see and the tail. Vin stood slowly, wincing as his ankle moaned in protest. Many people were sitting around the clearing, huddled together. He could feel the emotion from them sinking in; all the pain and sadness they were experiencing was following him as he walked slowly towards the crash. _

_It was strange. No matter how much he walked, he couldn't seem to get any closer. The same branches blocked his view and the same roots on the ground tripped him up and he stumbled forward. He heard a loud cry, a cry of emotional pain, and raised his head from watching his feet. A young boy, about ten, stumbled out of the wreckage. He had blonde curls flying everywhere and a large cut across his forehead. His eyes looked like Vin's; like the sky on a summer day. _

_Vin watched as the boy's knees gave out and he hit the ground hard. He was crying, heaving, every single part of his body shaking with emotion. Vin watched as the boy turned, wiping his eyes as he did so and yelled, "Maman! Papa!"_

_Vin frowned at the foreign language. It was distinctively European; French maybe. The next name the boy yelled was one that Vin recognised. _

"_Vincent!"_

* * *

Vin opened his eyes, startled. Trixie and Newton peered over him, both with looks of concern.

"Vin," Trixie started, "are you okay?"

Vin first felt like asking why they were in his room, but one glance around reminded him that he was in the infirmary. He pushed himself up slowly, arms shaking widely, and took a few deep breathes. Trixie helped adjust him, placing a few pillows behind his back to support him; surprisingly patient to have her question answered. Even Zero looked really concerned by this stage. That was not good.

Vin took a few more deep breathes, slowly calming himself down. "I… I'm okay… I think. It was just a nightmare."

"Pretty bad one," Zero replied in a surprisingly not sarcastic tone. "You've been talking in your sleep for the last ten minutes."

Vin stared at her, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. That was definitely the last thing he had needed. He turned his head away from his friends, instead focusing on the window. The late afternoon sun shone in, filling the room with an orange glow. Vin closed his eyes. The orange reminded him of the fire, of the boy.

Trixie rested her hand on his shoulder. "Vin?"

"Hmmm?" He replied, keeping his eyes closed.

"Are you okay?"

Vin chuckled slightly, opening his eyes. "You just asked me that, Trix."

Newton stepped forward. "We're not joking around, Vin. You looked terrified."

"It was just a nightmare." Vin repeated. "Probably the same reason why I didn't sleep well last night."

He wanted to rush on; change the subject to anything. "What… what time is it?"

"Quarter to six. Dinner is in five minutes," was Trixie's answer. Newton added to her statement; "You've been sleeping all day. Soper said that we couldn't disturb you until after classes ended."

They could all sense the change in mood. He was sure of it. Vin readjusted himself on the bed, leaning forward. "I've been asleep all day. Wow. Did I miss anything?"

"Not really. We had dodgeball earlier in the gym. The oval was covered in snow." Zero said.

"And Macbeth was refereeing." Newton continued, obviously happy for the new conversation. "It was horrible. Mr Soper was watching as well, so she couldn't do anything stupid."

Vin laughed slightly. "That sounds interesting. Who won?"

Zero let out a haughty laugh. "Please!" She exclaimed. "Who do you think?"

"Well it couldn't possibly be you?!" Vin retorted with equal sarcasm. "If you won, I wouldn't be the only one in these beds."

Trixie laughed at that. "Actually, it was Burt's team that won. Through favouritism, I might add."

Vin rolled his eyes. Trixie's sense of justice never seemed to have its limits. Even a simple game of dodgeball wasn't spared from her 'wrath', as the other members of I.N.K. called it.

"And we got our assignments after lunch." Trixie continued on. "As Mr Soper explained, you and your partner had to pick a fear and complete research on it."

"What kind of research?" Vin asked, trying to sound interested.

"The scientific name, how it effects people who are scared of it, stuff like that," Zero answered dismissively, leaning back in the plastic chair. She waved her hand and yawned. "It doesn't sound all that interesting."

"You're just saying that because you couldn't choose the fear in your group," Newton said with a smile.

Vin looked at Zero. "What are you doing?"

"Fear of flying." Zero said grumpily. "What is that even supposed to mean? Like, flying in a plane or a hang-glider?"

"I think it's the plane." Trixie answered.

Vin chuckled. "What about you, Newt, Trix?"

Trixie returned his smile. "My group is doing the fear of water. Don't forget though, I am paired with Burt so there's no doubt I'll be doing most of the work."

"Myka and I are doing the fear of heights." Newton added.

"Has Mr Soper said when the task is due?" Vin asked. Trixie shook her head. "I think he was going to see how we worked in our pairs first and then decide."

"Wait," Zero said, sitting forward, "I thought Soper gave a date. Didn't he say next week?"

It was Trixie's turn to look confused. "I don't think so… Newton?"

Newton just shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea."

Vin shook his head. "We are hopeless."

"Oh hush you." Trixie replied in an equally mocking tone. She glanced at the clock and sighed. "Come on, you two. It's almost time for dinner."

Newton let out a groan, standing from his chair and falling face-first onto Vin's bed with another groan on protest. Zero sighed. "I got him."

She hooked one arm around Newton's waist and flung him over her shoulder before marching out of the room, waving to Vin as she went. Trixie turned back to Vin. "We'll tell Mr Soper that you're awake but I have a feeling that you're probably going to spend the night here."

Vin nodded in agreement. "I figured as much. If you see Corey, can you send him down? I should at least ask the phobia that he's decided on."

"Sure." Trixie replied. "If you have another nightmare, just contact us on the radio, okay? We were really worried about you. You wouldn't wake up."

Vin glanced at his legs, smoothing the blanket over his calves. "Okay, Trix. I promise."

Trixie shot him a glare. "Better uphold that promise. If you don't, I'm not holding Zero back." She told him, walking towards the door. Vin returned her earlier glare. "You're evil."

Trixie shook her head, closing the door softly behind her. Vin collapsed back onto his bed. His limbs had stopped shaking and he was really thankful for that. His stomach growled loudly, reminding Vin that the last time he'd eaten was at eight o'clock in the morning. Vin let out a sigh, sitting back up and swinging his feet over the side of the bed. Someone had removed his shoes and socks, placing them neatly under the bed, so as he stepped onto the floor, he wanted to recoil from the freezing temperature the titles possessed.

Vin picked up his socks, hurried pulling one on while bouncing on his other foot. He attempted to do the same with the other foot only to lose his balance and fall backwards. A short laugh caused him to look up to see Myka standing in the doorway. "You okay there?"

Vin rubbed his head in embarrassment. "Yeah… I'm fine." He answered. Myka walked over, extending a hand. Vin grasped her hand tightly, allowing the brunette to pull him to his feet. She grinned. "I haven't seen you all day. Is this where you've been hiding?"

Vin returned to smile forcefully, not wanting to get into another conversation. Myka seemed to notice his silence, shrugging it off. "I figured as much. Anyway, I came looking for Newton. Have you seen him?"

"He left a few minutes ago," Vin informed her, pulling one of his shoes on. Myka sighed.

"Seriously? Dammit. Well, anyway; thanks!" She chirped, running out of the room. Vin shook his head, pulling his other shoe on and grabbing his jacket that was neatly folded on the bedside table. The last thing he wanted to do was miss dinner. Wrapping his orange jacket around him tightly, Vin hurried out of the infirmary.

The air outside was cold, it had begun to snow again and the orange rays of the sun were slowly hiding behind the grey storm clouds. Vin trudged towards the canteen, rubbing sleep from his eyes. As he approached the canteen, he could hear the chatter of students and the whir of the Cook-O-Matic.

Vin pushed the front door open, hanging his jacket up on the mostly full coatrack and walked into the canteen. There was still a small queue in front of the Cook-O-Matic and Vin could see Trixie, Newton and Zero sitting by one of the large windows. Each already had their food and Newton was talking and moving his hands avidly. Vin smiled, stepping at the end of the queue behind Little Fred. Surprisingly Mr Soper was nowhere to be seen, yet Macbeth was sitting sullenly behind the Cook-O-Matic, beady eyes following every student in the room. Compared to the last time Vin had seen her, where she'd been red with fury, she had calmed down significantly. But, due to his experience with the teacher, Macbeth would be up in a matter of minutes, yelling.

After collecting his dinner, Vin walked over to where his friends sat. They were now talking in whispers and leaning in closely so not to be heard. Vin cleared his throat, grinning as they all jumped in surprise. Newton hopped off his stool. "Vin! You're up!"

"I thought you were going to stay in the infirmary." Trixie said with slightly accusation in her tone. Vin shrugged, gesturing to his food. "I haven't eaten for a while. Seemed like a good idea."

Trixie and Zero moved over to give him some room and he sat down. "What are you planning?"

"We think Macbeth heard Mr Soper's speech on fears earlier." Trixie confided. It had, embarrassingly, taken them a few years to work out that most of Macbeth's schemes had come from what she'd heard them discuss. Vin sighed. "Great. So what are we going to do?"

"Well, Trix here doesn't want to do anything," Zero answered angrily. "She's more worried about the new students."

Trixie sighed in anger. "That's not how I meant it, Zero!" She snapped back. "We don't know anything about them. For all we know, they could be working with Macbeth."

Newton turned to Vin. "They've been talking like this for a while now." He said.

"Why don't we just split into two groups then?" Vin asked. Both Trixie and Zero turned to stare at him.

"What do you mean?" Trixie asked.

"Well there are four of us. Two can keep an eye on Macbeth and the other two can find information on Macbeth." Vin reasoned. Trixie leant back in her chair. "I like that idea. Of course, we'll need to work out strategies of recon on both 'targets' but it should work."

"So, I'll watching Macbeth then," Zero said slowly, "and whoever's with Trix will watch the newbies?"

"Pretty much." Trixie agreed. Newton immediately leapt to his feet. "I'm going to watch the students with Trix. I'm pretty interested in some of the stuff that I've seen Myka doing."

Zero turned to Vin. "You okay to sneak around Macbeth?"

"Oh, I don't know. We've only been doing it for six years." Vin answered with a grin. Trixie smiled. "Okay. Tomorrow morning we will get together to discuss each of the group's strategies. No one is to do anything without letting me know." She narrowed her eyes at Zero. "Okay?"

Zero raised her hands with a sarcastic grin. "Of course."

Newton rolled his eyes. "I'll bug them."

"Hey!" Vin protested. "You promised that you wouldn't do that anymore."

Newton shot him a mischievous grin. "I have no recollection of agreeing to those terms."

"He's been watching spy movies again," Zero whispered, "hasn't he?"

Evidently, she wasn't that quiet as Trixie rolled her eyes in their direction. Vin smiled, looking down at his half-eaten dinner. They'd been friends for about six years to date and, no matter how he was feeling, they'd always made him laugh. He'd actually forgotten how they had become friends and formed I.N.K, but he definitely wouldn't give up his friendship for anything.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

**I do apologise for the way it is hastily written as I was hit with writer's block multiple times throughout the chapter. If you see any mistakes, please tell me in a PM or review. I would love to know.**


	3. The Investigation begins

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

Vin whirled around in his seat, following every students' gaze to Myka, who was standing, laughing, over what appeared to be a simple water bottle wrapped in lots of duct tape. Both Jacquelyn and Corey had ducked under the table, pushing their chairs far away to make room to hide while Myka let out another crazed laugh and threw her hands into the air. "AND NOW!" she screamed, and paused dramatically, her dark eyes studying the creation in front of her.

Nothing happened.

Myka dropped her arms in exasperation and rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

"Miss Capone!" Macbeth bellowed, marching towards the table. Myka turned, a bright, innocent smile etched on her face. "Yes?"

"What on Earth do you think you're doing?"

Myka looked at her failed creation. "Well, I _was_ trying to create fireworks but," she gestured to the bottle, "it obviously didn't work.

Macbeth arched an eyebrow. "And why, exactly, are you doing that?"

"Why not?" was Myka's innocent answer.

That was the moment that the bottle decided to explode, drenching everyone around it. Myka, her dark strands of hair plastered to her forehead and clothing soaking wet, burst out in hysteric laughter, watching as Macbeth's face slowly turned red like a tomato from her anger.

Vin wiped his soaking hair off his face, turning to his friends. Zero appeared almost comical; her white hair hanging limply in front of her eyes, which were narrowed and bright with anger. Newton had started to laugh, obviously not caring about his soaking clothes while Trixie appeared to be in a state of shock. Zero clenched her fists, pushing her chair back and rising to her feet. She looked angrier than Macbeth did.

Trixie grabbed her arm and, between the three members of INK, managed to pull the eldest member towards the door. Trixie grabbed their coats, pushing them out of the canteen and into the crisp air. Zero, after throwing her blue jacket on haphazardly, shot everyone a death glare. "What are you doing?!"

"We don't need you to make a scene." Trixie replied calmly.

Zero scoffed. "Me?! Make a scene? That crazy girl just blew her water bottle up and you're worried about me?!" She turned away, flicking her wet strands of hair from her eyes and hastily pulling it into a ponytail. "I can't believe this!"

Vin stepped forward, raising both hands to try and calm Zero down. "But Macbeth was there. If you had gone to yell at her, what would Macbeth had done?"

Zero slumped forward, her shoulders dropping. She glared at him over her shoulder. She knew what he wanted her to say; a detention. Newton stepped forward. "Why don't we… uhh… why don't we all get cleaned up and meet back up in HQ?"

"Good idea, Newton." Trixie agreed. "Have a shower or change clothes. Whatever. But be in HQ by," she paused to lean over to see Newton's watch, "seven o'clock."

And with that, she walked away. Zero took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She reached down to her jacket, pulling the zip all the way up. Vin glanced over to Newton, who gave him a hesitant thumbs up before running after Trixie. Turning back to face Zero, Vin decided to wait patiently as Zero vented her anger at a tree. The last thing Vin wanted was to become aquatinted with the coat-rack. Again.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Vin watched as the canteen door opened slowly, Jacquelyn peering out into the frosty air. She spotted them, stepping out into the snow and walking towards them slowly. For some reason, she'd left her coat inside, wearing only a sleeveless, black halter-neck shirt. Vin turned to face her, noticing that she was carrying a stack of napkins. Jacquelyn stopped in front of him.

"Aren't you cold?" Vin asked. Might as well get the obvious question out of the way first. Jacquelyn shook her head, before extending her hand to offer the napkins. "I saw that you guys had left. Figured you might want a few napkins to help clean up."

She seemed quite awkward, Vin noted. He took the napkins, glancing over his shoulder. "Thanks. I think Zero might want them."

Jacquelyn nodded in agreement. "And… I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"Myka. There's nothing really wrong with her. She just…" Jacquelyn sighed, rubbing her forehead. "She's a very explosive person, as you just discovered. In more ways than one."

Zero, storming back towards them, let out a hollow laugh. "Yeah, no kidding. What was your psycho friend thinking anyway?!"

"Zero!" Vin hissed. Jacquelyn narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw. Her hands formed into fists. But she seemed to shake it out, crossing her arms over her chest and stepping back.

"Myka is an eccentric person-" Jacquelyn started slowly but Zero cut straight across.

"Oh, I can tell!" was her sarcastic response as she gestured to both hers and VIN's soaking clothes. "She seems a bit on the loopy side."

Jacquelyn took a deep breath. "I don't think she meant to annoy you. She's has strange… hobbies."

"Well she succeed anyway." Zero replied harshly. Vin noticed that Jacquelyn had bit the inside of her cheek and her eyes had become an exceptionally lighter shade of green. Zero, having already vented a good amount of her anger onto the tree, rolled her eyes and stormed off, not bothering to grab one of the napkins in Vin's hands. Jacquelyn watched her go, crossing her arms angrily.

"What is her problem?!" She finally exploded. Vin stared up at her, watching as Jacquelyn raised her arms to the back of her head, knotting her fingers into place. She was breathing deeply, allowing a severe expression of anger to tarnish her face. Then, surprisingly, she dropped her arms and sighed deeply.

"I try to be diplomatic. Myka's a bit too eccentric and Corey's too sullen." She told Vin. "However, as you can see, it doesn't work very well. Please tell Zero that I'm sorry about Myka. It's quite hard to prevent her from blowing things up." And with those final words, she walked back into the canteen. As Vin watched her go, he noticed that her fists were still clenched tightly, her knuckles white.

Vin tilted his head. She was a very strange person; slipping in and out of mood swings in seconds. She had reacted differently to Zero's harsh words than to Macbeth's earlier on the in the day. Instead of biting back like she did with Macbeth, Jacquelyn looked lost at what to say in response to Zero's accusing tones. Vin shook his head. He was over-thinking it. Everyone had quirks and characteristics. Why should those three's interest him the most?

He had automatically collapsed into the blue beanbag in the attic the minute he had walked it. Newton, whom had been sitting on it already, bounced up and then fell on top of him. Trixie, perched on her swivel chair, snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Okay. Everyone knows what they're doing," Trixie said. "Vin, I don't want you to do any investigating tonight. You look like you're about to collapse. Zero, I want you to do recon later tonight with Newton; just sneak it, take down the layout of the rooms and come back."

"Rooms?" Zero asked.

"Yeah," Newton answered, "we're doing recon in the new students' rooms when everyone's asleep."

Vin, although wanting to protest about being left out of the fun, saw the look in Trixie's eyes. This was not the time to argue with her. She looked prepared to send him to bed right now; even though it was only seven fifteen. Zero patted him on the back patronisingly.

"But for now," Trixie continued, "we're going to get a bit of background on our new 'friends'." She spun around, fingers flying over the keyboard. Several years ago Newton had connected the school database up to I.N.K.'s computer after Mr Soper had transferred all the school files online.

A picture of Myka appeared on the screen; along with information. Trixie's eyes scanned the pages. "Okay… Myka Lucia Capone, born in Venice, a diagnosis of ADHD, previous schooling: 'Loren Academy'."

"That's it?" Newton asked.

Trixie pursed her lips. "There's a birth date, 6th of January, but that's all the information Mr Soper recorded."

Vin leant forward, resting his crossed arms on his knees. "What about Jacquelyn?"

"Umm…" Trixie hummed, fingers flying over the keyboard again. "Jacquelyn Lauren Lacoste, born 29th of August in Paris… also from Loren Academy and… what's this?"

Newton perked up while Zero pushed off the wall. "What's what?"

"It's been recorded that she suffers multiple personality disorder." Trixie read in surprise. "Oh, and she has an older brother."

Zero snorted. "Because that's oh-so-important." She said with a smirk.

Vin shared the grin with Newton while Trixie rolled her eyes at them.

"Anyway," Newton began, trying to keep down his laughter, "multiple personality disorder?

"There's no other information about it." Trixie said, arching an eyebrow.

"That's weird." Vin stated. Zero shot him a look that clearly said 'no duh' before turning back to Trixie. "What about the last one; Corey Wright?"

"Hmmm…" Trixie mumbled to herself. "Here we go. Again, aged sixteen, born in Dublin on the 13th of October… again from Loren Academy… one younger sister and has severe haemophilia."

"Haemophilia?" Zero asked. "Is that when you haven't got enough white blood cells?"

"It's a clotting disease," Newton replied. "The body can't clot any cuts that he gets as quickly as we can."

Vin frowned. "I thought that they bleed to death if they get injured."

"Nah; unless it's a really severe cut or internal bleeding, he should be good. But I read somewhere that they can get internal bleeding for no reason." Newton said.

"On that positive note," Trixie cut in, rolling her eyes. Newton gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, couldn't help it."

Zero reached over, slapping Newton on the back. "And this is why we bring you to quiz nights. What can you tell us about ADHD and multiple personality disorder?"

Newton took a deep breath. "Well, ADHD, which stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is obviously a disorder that prevents a person from being able to keep their attention on a specific event nor be able to stay stationary for long periods of time."

Trixie pursed her lips. "So, by technicality, it's two disorders wrapped into one?" She asked.

Newton shook his head. "There are different sub-types but most people get the combined form called 'combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive'. But there are two others that lean towards hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive respectively."

Zero huffed. "Your science talk is hurting my head! Speak English!"

Vin rolled his eyes but chose to ignore Zero. "So what are the symptoms other than being unable to pay attention?"

"Technically that is the only symptom." Newton answered. "Kids who get ADHD are often tested for other disorders first to see if there are any other reasons to why they're unable to pay attention or sit still."

"What," Zero asked, "like a hearing problem?"

Newton shrugged. "Pretty much. It's not the most common disorder in the world; in fact among the young adult population, the majority of people diagnosed are boys anyway."

"What about… what did you call it again, Newton?" Trixie asked. "Dissociative identity disorder?"

Newton nodded. "It was called multiple personality disorder for quite a while and I believe the name was changed in 1994. Anyway, despite many scientists disagreeing to whether it actually exists, there is between zero point five percent and two percent of the population whom have been diagnosed with it."

"So it's very rare?" Vin asked.

"Not really. It's classed as not common but it's not rare either." Newton replied with a shrug. "Anyway, most of the people who have dissociative identity disorder experience blackouts or amnesia, often waking up somewhere and being unable to remember how they got there. One can have anywhere between two personalities to around one hundred."

Zero whistled. "How would you deal with something like that? Can you just imagine that?"

"Apparently, the change between each personality, or 'alters' which is the professional term, is called 'switching' or something like that." Newton stated.

"So…" Vin started, "have you seen any 'switching' at all?"

He got no response before Zero huffed. "I was working with her after lunch for that task and the only thing she appeared to be was strangely calm."

"She's right." Newton agreed. "I haven't seen anything."

Vin paused. Only forty five minutes ago he'd seen her go from very angry to calm in moments. "I have. It was after you left, Zero. She was really angry but appeared really calm seconds later. Do you reckon that's something?"

Newton shrugged. "Maybe. But that's an appropriate response around you two."

Trixie, crossing her legs, broke into the conversation and glanced at the clock they'd place on the wall. "Seven thirty. Dinner's finished." She bit her lip. "This would be a good time to start mapping out the mission for tonight. However, Newton, Zero; go mingle with the students. I want them in our sights until we have to prepare for bed."

Zero let out a groan but allowed Newton to drag her away. Vin leant back on the bean bag. "What do you want me to do?"

Without missing a beat, nor turning her gaze to him, Trixie responded. "I want you to go to your room, relax and get some sleep. I know you told us you were having trouble with nightmares. Maybe taking the time to unwind before going to sleep would help." She smirked. "We can't have a top agent like yourself being exhausted, now can we?"

Vin smirked. Of course she would bring that up. He flung himself to his feet and saluted Trixie sloppily. "Roger that, ma'am." and started walking backwards towards the door, keeping his arm in place.

Trixie merely rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should call me that more often." She called after him.

Vin laughed, closing the door behind him and wandering down towards the dormitories.

They found the three new students sitting in the lounge room. Corey was bent over a book while Jacquelyn and Myka were engaged in quite a fierce battle of chess. Myka was winning, chasing Jacquelyn's king and knight around the board.

"Hey guys," Myka chirped, not even glancing up from where she'd cornered Jacquelyn's knight.

"Hi…" Zero responded, watching as Jacquelyn narrowed her eyes, glaring at the board. "What are you doing?"

"We," Jacquelyn replied without missing a beat, "are breaking pretty much all the rules of chess. Until she actually gets my king, this game does not end!"

Newton, sharing a glance with Zero, shrugged. Jacquelyn raised herself up on her elbows. "Anyway, what are you two doing? No Vin and Trixie?"

Zero shook her head. "Not right now. Trixie is studying, like always."

Myka let out a triumphant laugh, leaping to her feet. "I got you!"

Jacquelyn glanced back down at the board. Her knight had been knocked off the board haphazardly while Myka's bishop, knight and the single pawn were surrounding Jacquelyn's king, cornering it on the other side of the board. Jacquelyn tilted her head before replying calmly: "Not yet."

Myka looked down at the blonde, crossing her arms. "Oh?"

In one swift move, Jacquelyn flicked Myka's bishop off the board and returned her friend's challenging stare. Myka flopped back to the ground, narrowing her own eyes.

"You won't get anything out of them." Corey said, absent-mindedly flicking the page of his book. "This is a regular occurrence."

"The chess?" Zero asked.

"No. The competition. They'll be going on for a while."

Newton watched as Jacquelyn claimed Myka's knight, leaving only two ivory pieces and a single ebony king standing. "Shouldn't the game have finished by now? All you're going to do is chase each other around the board."

Corey huffed dismissively as neither of the two girls paid attention to Newton's words. "Don't even bother. Once they both have about two pieces left, you won't draw them away."

He flicked a bookmark into the book, closing it softly and looked up at the two members of I.N.K. "So, why are you two here?"

Zero coughed awkwardly. "Well… I came to apologise..." She responded, turning to face Jacquelyn and Myka. Both girls returned the stare, Myka appearing confused. "What did we do?"

"Nothing," Zero replied, rubbing her arm, her eyes focused on the ground.

Jacquelyn's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

Zero took a deep breath, looking at Jacquelyn. "I'm sorry… for what I did and said outside earlier. I shouldn't have said it."

Both Corey and Myka appeared confused while Jacquelyn tilted her head. "It's fine, really. She's difficult for us to deal with as well."

Zero cracked a smile before throwing herself on the couch next to Corey, who let out a quiet groan of annoyance, squirming over to allow room for the surprise company. Newton settled himself on the ground next to Myka, watching as the two girls returned to their game of cat and mouse, Jacquelyn now managing to claim Myka's lone pawn.

"How long have you guys been playing like this?" He asked curiously. Jacquelyn, without taking her eyes away from the board, responded; "An old friend of ours, Rita Histon, taught me to play chess, very loosely. Now, Mykes here, is insanely picky about the way she plays a game."

Myka responded by poking out her tongue, slowly moving her ivory king closer to Jacquelyn's stationary ebony king. Jacquelyn continued, ignoring the gesture; "So Olivier (my brother) and I began playing like this to annoy her to no end. Eventually she sucked it up and began to play against us like this."

Newton laughed. "Maybe you should play Trix; she's the best chess player in our school."

"Really?" Myka asked, looking excited.

"Yep." Zero answered from her slouched position on the couch. "She can beat Soper and played in the annual chess tournament almost every year since we were ten."

Jacquelyn reached over, jabbing at Myka's ribs. "See? Now you have someone you can actually play without having to allow for backwards playing."

Myka laughed, tapping her fingers against her thighs. "Thank God because… checkmate."

Jacquelyn blinked, hazel eyes swivelling towards the board as Myka leant forward and flicked Jacquelyn's king off the board.

"You're kidding me!" Jacquelyn moaned, falling onto her back. "I was actually trying and I almost had you this time."

"Jacquelyn," Corey stepped in, "she had you at checkmate about ten moves into the game. Myka could've won any time she wanted."

Zero watched as he plucked at the page, flicking it over neatly, fingers avoiding the edges of the paper. Jacquelyn let out a huff before clambering to her feet and falling on the couch on the other side of Zero. "Newton! Avenge me!"

Myka, already setting the pieces back up, looked at Newton expectantly. Newton let out a fake exasperated sigh, shuffling over to be closer to the board. "I guess I'll go easy on you, Myka."

Jacquelyn let out a snort, rolling herself over, accidently knocking Zero at the same time. Corey carefully slid the bookmark back into place, before leaning past Zero and shoving Jacquelyn hard in the back, pushing her off the couch. Jacquelyn landed on the floor with a thud and was on her feet in seconds. "Dude! Seriously?"

Corey waved his book in her face. "Trying to read here, Jacquelyn."

"You shoved me off the couch!" Jacquelyn responded as snappily as Corey had been. But her words fell on deaf ears as Corey had already removed the bookmark and begun to read again. Jacquelyn threw her hands up in exasperation. "Fine! Fine! I give up on you. You're worse than Olivier."

Corey rolled his eyes. "No, he would've thrown you off the couch."

"As if. He knows what would happen."

Zero readjusted herself on the couch. "What's that then?"

"This!" Jacquelyn grabbed one of the many beanbags that adorned the room and threw it hard at Corey. His book went flying and Corey, annoyed, pushed the beanbag onto the floor before leaping to his feet.

"You are dead."

Jacquelyn poked her tongue out before leaping out of the way of the oncoming return throw and ducking behind the second couch. Zero stared at the two, utterly surprised at Corey's complete attitude change. Jacquelyn, peeking out around the couch, laughed and threw another beanbag, hitting Zero in the chest, knocking the wind out of the albino.

Zero leapt up angrily. "That's it!" She yelled, grabbing the beanbag and hurling it back. Jacquelyn had looked back over the couch at the wrong time and Zero's throw nailed the blonde in the face. She disappeared behind the couch, yelling something in another language. Zero spun herself around, grabbing another beanbag. Corey had set up a bit of a fort of beanbags, which worked as ammunition and defence. He grabbed the closest one, chucking straight for Zero.

Zero threw herself aside, rolling to her feet just next to Newton and Myka. Newton looked wary while Myka's eyes were following each and every throw made, and yet was still somehow beating Newton at the game.

"Look behind you, blondie!" Someone yelled and a beanbag was slammed against Zero's back. Jacquelyn darted past, running towards Corey as Zero threw the bag off her, yelling, "YOU'RE BLONDE TOO, IDIOT!"

Jacquelyn threw her second beanbag at Corey, managing to knock him back a few steps. Jacquelyn scooped up an armful of beanbags, running back for cover behind the couch. Zero threw her beanbag after the retreating blonde, managing to hit her on the head and knocked her behind the couch. For a moment the silence was filled with panting, until Jacquelyn popped back up and yelled, "Cowardly much?!"

Zero rolled her eyes at her. "You're hiding behind a couch."

Jacquelyn smirked. "You're the idiot standing in the middle of a battlefield with no cover." She retorted, dropping back behind the couch. Zero frowned, turning to face Corey, only to get a beanbag to her face. She fell backwards, hitting the ground and threw the beanbag off, knocking over the chessboard.

"Figlio di un-" Myka bellowed, grabbing the discarded beanbag and racing over to Corey to whack him on the head. Zero leapt to her feet, pulling Newton behind the other couch.

"These people are insane." She hissed.

"I don't know," Newton replied. "I think they're kinda fun."

It was nearly midnight by the time the 'infiltration' got started. Trixie had forced Vin to bed three hours prior after he kept sneaking back. Zero balanced against the wall, one leg propped up, and watching as Newton and Trixie finished the final touches to the camera systems. After they escaped the beanbag fight, which only ended after half the school had joined in and someone saw Macbeth trudging across the snow covered quadrangle, Trixie had been waiting for them with the 'security footage' of the fight and Vin laughing his head off.

Myka's room was extremely messy for someone who'd been at the school for just over twenty four hours. There were tins of instant coffee littered all around, along with several large stuffed animals. Her closet was overflowing with large winter coats, despite it being the first few weeks of winter, and a large and intricate chemistry set covered her study desk. Myka herself was wrapped up in a quite a few large blankets and was falling off the bed. There was already a small pool of blankets that had fallen off previously.

There were a few books on the floor listing chemical reactions and 'backyard ballistics', next to a large roll of duct tape.

"This girl is nuts." Zero whispered to Newton, carefully stepping over one of the many teddy bears. Newton barely glanced up from the notebook he was listing anything suspicious in. Newton pulled out his camera, quickly snapping a few photos of the chemistry set before the two left.

Jacquelyn's room wasn't messy like Myka's. In fact, it appeared as though she had barely unpacked. Everything was quite neat and two open suitcases rested at the foot of her bed, which was also the way that Jacquelyn had set up her bed. One pillow had already fallen off the bed due to the lack of railing at both ends. A large pile of books were on her desk, listing from math and English books to a notebook that had obviously been used a lot, as it was beginning to fall apart and had lots of spare pieces of paper shoved inside it.

Resting next to the stationery was a long crystal-like feather that seemed to glow in the moonlight. Newton picked it up in surprise.

"What is that?" Zero whispered, leaning over his shoulder to get a better look at it.

Newton turned the feather around carefully. Each individual barb that created the feather was replicated perfectly, giving the feather an insanely realistic look about it.

"I think it's a carving from a gemstone… but… it's very precise. This would've taken a very long time to create."

"Gimme that!" Zero snatched it from his grasp, turning it over and over in her hands.

"What?" Newton asked

"It… I can't really explain it… It just looks…" Zero exhaled, "different."

Newton took the feather out of Zero's hands and placed it back on the table, glancing quickly at the sleeping Jacquelyn. He then turned his attention to the well-used notebook, flipping it open. The book contained everything from random drawings of horns, wings and cat-like eyes, to random stories about supernatural activity. Zero, still reading over Newton's shoulder, scoffed. "Don't tell me she's a paranormal nut. Ghosts and demons and zombies and all that."

"Don't you love zombie movies?" Newton retorted, flicking through the book. Each story depicted the same characters; Nicole, Jade, Alexander and Jason, each time being sent somewhere and encountering some weird supernatural creature.

Newton frowned, closing the book. "There's a new entry. All it says is 'Pinkerton'."

Corey's room was the neatest of all, considering Jacquelyn hadn't unpacked. A small box labelled 'medication' sat on the bedside table, next to Corey's glasses. Everything was neatly put away; books and stationery lined up on the desk, empty suitcases placed next to the closet. The only thing that appeared slightly out of place was a single notebook that rested under Corey's glasses.

It was new, newer than anything else that Corey had brought with him, and was so small it would be more of a pain to have in a classroom than an asset. Zero glanced at Newton when he pointed it out.

"Should we grab it?" She muttered.

"I'm not sure." He whispered back. "It's right next to him."

Zero stepped forward carefully before Newton grabbed her arm, shoving the small pink sphere of bubble-gum into her hand.

"Just in case, we should get into disguise."

Zero nodded, quickly chewing the bubble-gum and blowing it to create the bunny masks that had become crucial to I.N.K.'s 'appearance'. Zero picked up Corey's glasses carefully, sliding the book out from underneath it and then slowly placed the book back down.

Newton hurried over, pulling Zero back to get the moonlight to shine of the book. At the top of the page, 'Pinkerton' was written. A large table took up the rest of the pages, with names, appearances and generic information on everyone in the boarding school.

Zero frowned, tugging the book closer. "What the hell?" She breathed, eyes skimming the pages. "He's got everyone; Kathy… Bertha… Little Fred… Ben… even Mr Soper!"

Newton closed the book. "We should take this back to headquarters."

Zero nodded and Corey flicked on the lamp. Both I.N.K. members raised their arms to cover their eyes from the sudden light while noticing the Corey hadn't placed his glasses on yet. As Corey fumbled for his glasses, Zero grabbed Newton's wrist and began yanking him from the room.

"Hey!" Corey yelled, kicking off the blankets and sprinting after them. Zero had managed to pull Newton out into the hallway but Corey grabbed Newton's other wrist, blue eyes blazing with fury.

Newton hissed in pain, dropping the notebook, while Zero swung herself around, kicking Corey in the chest. He stumbled back, his tight grip releasing on Newton and the two sprinted off.

Trixie wasn't happy.

"You nearly got caught?!"

Newton winced at her loud voice while Zero crossed her arms and retorted, "Trix, that book had information on _everyone_ here. Soper and Macbeth. Even us."

Trixie's expression just got angrier. "You should have radioed _me_! Maybe if you had, we could've gotten the information from the notebook without waking him up."

Zero began to mirror Trixie's emotions so Newton quickly stepped in. "Okay, okay. This is normally Vin's job but still; this is what we were looking for. That book could be what we need to work out those students."

"Did you consider that it could just be Corey that is involved with gathering the information?" Trixie snapped back, rubbing her forehead. Seeing Zero was about to snap, Newton let out a sigh.

"Can we… just discuss this tomorrow?" He pleaded. "Vin's going to want to know what he missed and it is past midnight. We're all just tired."

He took a step towards the attic door, begging both girls to follow him. Trixie sighed, leaning over to the computer and switching it off. "You're right, Newton. I think what we all need is a good night's rest."

"So…?" Vin asked for the third time within five minutes.

Zero glared at him. "So what?"

Vin returned the glare in annoyance. "The 'mission' last night. How did it go?"

"Fine."

"That's not very descriptive."

"What do you want to know exactly?"

Trixie raised her hands. "Guys, just relax. Vin, just wait until after breakfast."

Vin pouted, picking at his food, while Newton snickered at the two. Trixie had rolled her eyes, watching as Zero attempted to discretely poke her tongue out at Vin. Desperate to change the subject, Trixie turned to Vin. "Did you sleep any better last night?"

Vin paused for a few seconds. Truthfully, he'd been awake since about five o'clock, having woken up from yet another nightmare. But Trixie had already sent him away once; that was not going to happen again. "Yeah. Much better."

Trixie smiled, relaxing. "That's great."

Vin walked over to Corey, who was engrossed with a book while Jacquelyn absent-mindedly drew in her book and Myka slept.

"Uh, Corey?"

"Hmm?" Corey didn't even move his gaze.

Polite, Vin mused. "Just wanted to find out if you've chosen a phobia for Mr Soper's assignment.

"Agoraphobia."

"Agoraphobia?"

"Yep."

Jacquelyn placed her pencil down. "He's in a bad mood." She explained. Vin frowned. "Why?"

"Apparently some students broke into his room last night."

Vin's frown deepened. "Seriously?"

Jacquelyn shrugged her shoulders. "That's the most we've managed to get out of him. Myka and I will let you know when he's in a better mood."

Vin recognized the dismissal and thanked Jacquelyn.

"Oh and Vin?"

He turned. Jacquelyn had gone back to her notebook, quickly sketching a large dark shape on the page. "Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder. People who suffer from it are afraid to leave any environment that they don't know or consider safe." She smiled. "Could you tell Zero that we could work on our project after lunch, please?"

"Uhh…" Vin replied, stunned. "Sure?"

"Thanks."

Vin left the library, still a little surprised. It was two hours after breakfast and Zero, Trixie and Newton hadn't told him anything about the mission that had occurred last night. How come he had to find out any type of information about it from one of the people under suspicion? And how many people actually know what agoraphobia is and can define it in a matter of seconds? Vin shook his head. Focus. His friends had probably decided to hide the mission results from him because of his 'sleeping problems', but finding out that they had nearly been caught from the person they were 'spying' on wasn't the best.

Vin walked to headquarters slowly, trying to decide what to say. The day had been classed as a snow day, with Mr Soper insisting that some of the day be spent on the phobia assignment so Trixie had ushered Zero and Newton up to headquarters, insisting Vin see Corey and eat breakfast. Whatever had happened last night, Vin was guessing they didn't want him to know. Vin paused outside the door to the attic and sighed, running his hands through his hair. There wasn't anything he could really say.

He pushed the door open to a shouting match between Zero and Trixie. Trixie was seated at the controls of the computer, legs crossed, shoulders straight and lips pursed in a tight line while Zero stood in front of her, yelling. Newton sat on the beanbag, his fingers stuffed in his ears.

"- And it's not my fault, so, for God sakes, stop blaming me!"

"I'm not blaming you, Zero! If you'd just listen to what I am saying-"

Vin frowned, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion and cut into Trixie's sentence. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What is going on?"

Both girls turned to glare at him and simultaneously snapped, "Nothing."

Vin arched an eyebrow and retorted; "You wouldn't happen to be fighting about being caught by Corey last night, would you?"

Zero's mouth dropped open in shock while Trixie and Newton stared at him. Vin crossed his arms. "I'll take that as a yes, then. You were planning on telling me when exactly?"

They began to look extremely guilty so Vin narrowed his eyes and allowed silence take control of the conversation. Trixie slipped off her chair, making her way over to him. As she stood in front of him and opened her mouth to speak, Trixie seemed to lose the words she was going to say. She sighed, closing her mouth, before looking at him pleadingly, emerald eyes wide.

"I… _We're_ sorry, Vin. You looked a lot better this morning and you were chirpy and acting like your normal self so the last thing we wanted to do was destroy that mood. So we just thought…"

Vin sighed, dropping his arms, while Trixie attempted to explain herself. "Trix. Enough."

At first, Trixie looked hurt but Vin gave her a weak smile. "It's fine, Trix. Seriously. It was just a bit of a shock."

"How did you find out?" Zero asked cautiously.

"Jacquelyn." Vin replied nonchalantly. "I had to talk to Corey but he was grumpy so Jacquelyn said that someone had broken into his room last night."

"That reminds me!" Newton interrupted. "You've got to see some of the photos that we took."

He rushed over to the computer, hitting a button rapidly to wake the computer up. Vin shimmied around Trixie, walking over. Pictures of an old notebook appeared on the screen, littered with drawings and 'memoirs' of supernatural occurrences. Vin frowned. "Who's is this?"

"We found it in Jacquelyn's room." Zero called.

The next lot of images were of Myka's room, as they depicted the large chemistry set. Several teddy bears were caught on photo, stacked next to the desk neatly.

The final photo was of the crystalized feather.

Vin looked through the photos. "So the stuffed animals and the chemistry set belong to Myka. And from what I can see, her room is really messy."

Zero laughed. "It's a bit hard to get that messy within twenty four hours."

"Unless you unpack by upturning the suitcases." Vin agreed. He looked at the feather. "What's this?"

"Not sure," Trixie answered. "Newton said it felt like a crystal ornament."

Zero leant forward. "There is something very… strange about it."

"How so?" Vin asked. Zero shrugged. "I'm not quite sure how to explain it. It just looked… strange."

"Well does it look strange here?"

Zero frowned, looking at the photo. "Yes. Can you see it? There's a slight shadow. And it's not from the dark."

The other three members of I.N.K. leant forward, scrutinizing the image. Trixie gave up first. "I don't see what you mean, Zero."

Newton shook his head. "Neither."

Zero huffed, glaring at the photo. Vin clicked on the photos of the notebook. Most of the pages depicted everything from angel wings and feather to long curled horns to scales littered an arm. There were a few stories that talk about the supernatural and, as Newton had noted, the newest page was titled 'Pinkerton'.

Vin pointed at the final page. "'Pinkerton'? What do you reckon that means?"

"We're not sure." Newton replied.

"Maybe she just likes writing about places she's been?" Zero suggested. Vin stared at the page. Aside from the title, there were small notes scribbled in the margin.

'_20 students – 2 teachers'_

'_Locked away – large, metal gate/fence'_

'_Summoning Ritual - teacher? – student?'_

"What does 'Summoning Ritual' mean?" Trixie asked softly.

Vin shook his head. "I have no idea.


End file.
